Hat-trick of World Cups; is it the resurgence of the ‘Invincible’ West Indies cricket?

New Delhi: Though the world famous cricket ground Lord’s in London is called the 'Mecca of Cricket', but yesterday Kolkata's Eden Gardens became the 'Mecca' for the West Indies cricket team who pulled out an astonishing and very special victory over England. Just a few hours earlier the West Indian Women’s Cricket team had knocked out the Australian Women’s team by 8 wickets.

This was the first time in cricket history that a country emerged as World champions in both the segments, i.e. Men’s and Women’s. These incredible performances of the Caribbean teams follow the victory of West Indies Under-19 Team at the World Cup 2016 held in Bangladesh just a few weeks ago. This triple bonanza has raised the hopes for the resurgence of the Golden Era of West Indies Cricket. The present men’s team which is hounded by several controversies and difficulties has not only proved their amazing cricketing talent but also gave a befitting reply to their most bitter critics and detractors.

Winning three World Cups in a row in a span of few weeks is not an ordinary achievement for any team, especially one that is bogged down by doubts, questions, and has bleak chances of very survival. Their resilience and firm determination has shown that with this talent they have a very bright future. Now it is up to the West Indies Cricket Board to settle all the disputes with their players and focus on harnessing the pool of talent and regain their past glory.

Right from the 1970s, the Caribbeans were a formidable and almost invincible cricketing unit in all departments, their bowling being the mainstay. Who can forget the likes of Sir Garfield Sobers, Alvin Kallicharran, Andy Roberts, Sir Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, and Brian Lara. The team that won the inaugural limited overs World Cup in 1975 and the second edition in 1979. It was a champion team that excelled over other teams in batting, bowling, fielding, and on field conduct.

But somewhere in mid-90s the West Indies Cricket witnessed a downfall and was reduced to an ordinary team. Some cricket experts attribute the waning to the attitude and indifference of the WICB.

In recent years, Chris Gayle has emerged as the new master blaster with his unmatchable ability to hit the ball out of the ground against any attack. He has helped to revive the interest in Caribbean Cricket. He is the only player who has hit a triple hundred in Tests, a double hundred in ODIs and a ton in Twenty20 Internationals.

Along with Gayle his teammates Lendl Simmons, who blasted 82 runs off 51 balls against the mighty Indians in the semis and Marlon Samuels' unbeaten 85 runs off 66 balls in high pressure final match against England have expressed that the team is all set to take the West Indies to the pinnacle.